The family of an Apopka firefighter who was crushed while moving a sand trailer has filed a lawsuit against the city.
Austin Duran, 25, died July 15, 2022 of multiple injuries suffered in the June 30 incident.
The lawsuit alleges the sand trailer was “defectively and dangerously constructed” and maintained by the city, WKMG reported adding that the family says the city was responsible for "the training and supervision of Fire Department personnel of City of Apopka."
Duran, who was hired in 2020, had served in the department's explorer program while in high school.
“The Sand Trailer was known by the Defendant to have been constructed in a standard that did not comply with safety, (didn’t) have adequate safeguard to keep the Sand Trailer from tipping over, as it did on Austin Duran and did not have safety measures, procedures or warnings on the Sand Trailer to warn those using the trailer of the dangers and hidden dangers,” the lawsuit reads.
Michael Duran has said the city had never accepted responsibility for his son's tragic death despite safety issues cited in an investigative report.
Firehouse.com News
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